Ivory netsuke which looks somewhat like a fox but is in fact a Japanese ‘Tanuki’ (狸, pronounced lí in Mandarin). The wild tanuki has disproportionally large testicles, a feature that has inspired humorous exaggerations in Japanese art. Tanuki may be shown with their testicles flung over their shoulder or using them as percussion drums. This netsuke features a tanuki dressed in a kimono. It sits with its legs crossed while using its scrotum as a reading table. The netsuke is signed but much to our regret we have not been able to identify the characters. Height 3.9 cm. Width 2.7 cm. Depth 3.7 cm.